Delivering Customer Focused Outcomes and Value for Money through Commissioning and Procurement

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Delivering Customer Focused Outcomes and Value for Money through

Commissioning and Procurement Procurement Strategy

2012-2015

V1.0

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Foreword

“There should be a commitment from the top of each council (leader, chief executive, procurement champion) to procurement excellence by managing it strategically and resourcing it adequately.”

National Procurement Strategy. October 2003

Getting procurement right is important not only because it is about improving the delivery and cost effectiveness of quality public services to our customers across the Borough, but also because the choices we make on a contract or partnering agreement signifies the type of authority the Council wants to be and how we are perceived by residents, businesses and investors.

With significantly reduced resources and fewer people to support the work of the Council, procurement plays a key role in achieving the vision of being ‘a council which builds success and prosperity with our citizens and partners, whilst protecting its vulnerable people’. This means maximising the investment in the ‘local pound’, enabling contracts that are fit for purpose and meet Council priorities, adding real value to the residents of the Borough and ensuring continual improvement throughout the contract lifecycle.

In order to achieve this, five priority areas have been identified:

1. Supporting strategic and collaborative procurement across the Council, getting the right contracts at the right price;

2. Driving efficiencies out of procurement through the competitive bid process and supplier relationship management;

3. Focusing on sustainable procurement, balancing local needs, environmental factors and social equality and inclusion with delivering value for money;

4. Meeting the Council’s legislative and regulatory requirements

5. Enabling those with procurement responsibilities to undertake their responsibilities.

As a Council we have developed our strategy to support these priority areas.

Councillor Colin Lambert, Leader of the Council March 2012

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Contents Page

1. Executive Summary 6

2. Scope 7

3. Introduction 8

4. Procurement in Context 9

5. How do we improve? The Council’s Procurement Priorities 11

6. Summary 15

Appendices

Appendix 1 Procurement Progress at a Glance 16

Appendix 2 Procurement Key Action Plan 17

Appendix 3 Related Weblinks and Further Reading 18

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1. Executive Summary

1.1 There has been a procurement strategy in place for a number of years at the Council and each version has reflected the challenges facing the Council at that time, from modernising procurement to the current financial challenges facing both the Council and residents in the difficult economic times we find ourselves in. By continuing to build on the strong foundations we have created as a Council, this strategy seeks to maximise and continue to develop the role procurement has in meeting the Council aims.

The Council’s Procurement Strategy supports the wider Borough strategic objectives and ambitions and ensures procurement activities are integrated and focused on the achievement of the Council’s aims. The strategy has been developed with consideration of a number of related strategies, including but not exclusively:

1. the Council’s Community Strategy;

2. the Council’s Carbon Reduction Commitment;

3. AGMA, North West and the National Procurement Strategies.

1.2 To meet the Council’s objectives, five strategic procurement objectives have been identified:

Supporting strategic and collaborative procurement across the Council, getting the right contracts at the right price

1.2.1 Strategic Involvement in High Value, Risk or Complex Projects enables the decision making process and ensures contracts are made in full knowledge of procurement issues and linked to Council’s aims.

Driving efficiencies out of procurement through the competitive bid process and supplier relationship management

1.2.2 Maximising contract efficiencies from Procurement is critical to achieving value for money from scarce resources. Providing robust commercial challenge, both internally and with Council’s suppliers, should result in cost-effective contracts and improved service outcomes.

Focusing on sustainable procurement, balancing local needs, environmental factors and social equality and inclusion with delivering value for money

1.2.3 Supporting Economic Prosperity and Environmental Benefits in Rochdale through procurement will contribute towards:

a. Improving the prosperity of the town by increasing jobs through the development of local business opportunities.

b. Encouraging use of local suppliers, voluntary and third sector and local apprenticeships throughout the procurement supply chain.

c. Meeting Council sustainability targets such as carbon reduction.

Meeting the Council’s legislative and regulatory requirements

1.2.4 Complying with legal responsibilities and fairness of decision making will minimise the risk of legal challenge will reduce the risk of delays to projects and any related financial implications, thus protecting the Council’s reputation.

Enabling those with procurement responsibilities to undertake their responsibilities

1.2.5 Enabling those with Procurement Responsibilities with the skills to undertake this activity will allow for the development of a long term, sustainable procurement function for the Council.

1.3 The strategic objectives are aligned by the Council’s Values:

a. Focusing on customers b. Using time and money wisely c. Working together

d. Acting with integrity e. Valuing our people

f. Always learning and improving

The Value of the Local Pound – Supporting Economic Prosperity

Defining ‘local’ generates a high degree of debate but ultimately, the term ‘local supplier’ refers to any company whose presence in the Borough provides significant benefits to the local community, particularly through employment and training opportunities and job creation. In 2010/2011, from a survey of Rochdale Council’s top suppliers, 91% of Council spend was reinvested in Rochdale or North West based staff, with 44% with Rochdale based suppliers. This accounts for over £17m reinvested in the Borough.

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2. Scope

2.1 This Strategy will form the basis of Rochdale Council Procurement Action Plan for the period 2012 to 2015 to support the Council in seeking to achieve the savings requirements and releasing resources to the front line and sets out how the Council and its partners will:

a. Work collaboratively to deliver projects to generate savings

b. Seek to drive change and raise the profile of procurement across the Borough

c. Use category management as a driver to improve procurement performance, generate best value and shape markets

2.2 For suppliers, both current and prospective, this strategy provides an overview and guide to understanding the operating requirements in which the Council is legally required to meet. Further guidance can be found on the Councils website. See Appendix 3 for the web address.

2.3 If you are a resident of the Borough of Rochdale, this strategy shows the direction the Council is working towards to demonstrate to you as tax payers that monies are spent in an open, transparent and responsible manner. Further information on the Council’s spend can be found in the monthly Spend over £500 reports available on the Council’s website. See Appendix 3 for the web address.

2.4 The Strategy covers the Council’s annual spend on goods, services and works of over £150m per annum through 40,000 transactions and 3,000 suppliers. It aims to compliment the current national and regional strategies as developed by Central Government, the North West Procurement Network and the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA).

2.5 References to the Borough of Rochdale within this document refers to the Borough and the four Townships of Heywood, Middleton, Rochdale and the Pennines.

Key Procurement Highlights in Numbers 2010/2011

 £1.3m – savings made through contracts

 500 - local suppliers attended Procurement ‘Think Local’ and ‘Chest Training’ sessions

 100% - suppliers rating procurement support sessions as good or better

 89% - contracts over £50k awarded to SMEs, 64% higher than the Government target

 49% – of Council spend on goods and services within the Borough of Rochdale



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3. Introduction

3.1 The Council faces its toughest challenge to date with unparalleled funding cuts and a fragile global economy resulting in the need to deliver better performing contracts at lower costs at a time when demand for public services is likely to increase. The Council has a duty to its residents as well as a commitment to support local businesses, to drive through market innovation and encourage sustainable development as it strives to meet its objectives. For procurement, this means a focus on high value activity that has a critical impact on performance.

Adding value in areas where the greatest results can be achieved, be that in the form of better performing contracts, added value through the increase in local jobs and investment or a reduction in the Council’s carbon footprint to protect the Borough for future generations. The priorities identified in this strategy aim to reinforce the Council’s ambition for the Borough.

4. Procurement in Context

Before detailing the strategic procurement direction of the Council, it is beneficial to provide an understanding of procurement and the landscape in which the Council operates. What follows is a definition of procurement and the Council’s approach to procurement and commissioning alongside an overview of the wider operating environment and the Council’s current procurement position.

What is Procurement?

4.1 Definition:

Procurement is the process of acquiring goods, works and services, covering both acquisitions from third parties and from in house providers. The process spans the whole cycle from identification of need through to the end of the useful life of an asset. It involves option appraisal and the critical “make or buy”

decision which may result in the provision of services in house in appropriate circumstances.”

National Procurement Strategy for Local Government 2003

Commissioning and Procurement

4.2 Commissioning and procurement are interrelated functions that at a very basic level start with the identification of a need through stakeholder and customer consultation that is then taken through the process of sourcing the best delivery option (make or buy) based on the intended outcomes. From the initiation of any project this would then follow a number of stages as shown in Figure 1, below, scaled to reflect the value and/or risk associated with each project.. Stages one to five cover the sourcing process and incorporates a gateway review process to test or (re-)establish the need to continue at key stages in the process. Stages six to 11 cover the internal purchase to pay process with 12 and 13 related directly to supplier relationship management. In order to achieve the Council’s aims for the best value for money and to deliver first class services to local residents and businesses it is vital that good practice is shared across all Service areas and common standards are used.

Continual improvement and innovation throughout are needed across all areas within the Council if we are going to exceed our customers’ expectations and deliver improved quality with less resource and manage within the allocated budget. The wider roll-out of The Chest across Services not only provides a single point of contact for suppliers to view Council opportunities but also assists in the development of common process within the Borough of Rochdale and across the wider regional procurement network.

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Procurement Operating Environment

4.3 The challenge for officers with a responsibility for procurement is to find the right balance between delivering efficiencies and balancing the use of collaborative agreements with that of the local suppliers and other sustainability issues. It is felt that the best way to achieve this is to have an active involvement in regional and national activities in order ensure the Borough’s needs are met and to relay the contract and sub-contract opportunities back to our local suppliers in order for them to engage in the process. Figure 2, below, provides an overview of the wider procurement landscape which impacts on the Council’s operational plans.

Figure 2. Procurement Operating Environment National

The procurement service is governed by legislation and policies including the National Procurement Strategy. In addition, a number of key reports impact on the future direction of commissioning and procurement from the 2004 Gershon Report:

‘Releasing Resources to the Front Line’, to the more recent Roots Reports, HM Treasury Operational Efficiency

Programme, 2009 and Localism Act 2011.

Regional

The North West Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnership (NWIEP) has developed a three-year strategy in consultation with all councils from the region. Whilst funding may cease in this area, a commitment from each sub-region to collaborate continues, with the focus being on the transformation agenda and on providing support for the enablers of improvement. This includes a collective approach to training and eProcurement systems

development, Rochdale fully supports the regional activity.

Local

Procurement is governed by internal policies and procedures in the Contract Procedure Rules, Financial Regulations and Scheme of Delegation. In addition, all officers are bound by the Code of Conduct. These documents reflect all regional, national and European strategies and legislation and are reviewed annually.

European

The Council procures under the legislation as set down by the European Union and enforced throughout the UK. These rules have been put in place to ensure that open competition takes place for all public sector contracts. At a basic level, all contracts with a cumulative total value of £173k for goods and service and £4.3m for works needs to be tendered and published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) to ensure all organisations across Europe can compete for the opportunity. These thresholds are subject to biannual updates from the EU and full details are available from the OGC website. The next update is due in January 2014. For goods, services and works under these set values, there is a greater degree of flexibility in procurement, but strict guidelines are still in place to ensure that suppliers are selected on merit and a fair and transparent process has taken place.

Sub-Regional Rochdale Council participates and leads AGMA procurement initiatives and ensures that innovation and best practice is disseminated

throughout the Council.

All Rochdale Council contracts are

advertised so any other AGMA authority can benefit from the contract and generate greater economies of scale. The Council actively supports the use of this and other consortia

arrangements where such arrangements are advantageous to the authority. The Council is currently undertaking a review to create a Strategic Procurement Unit with four other Greater Manchester Councils.

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low value spend and petty cash. Recently, the procurement systems have been enhanced through the use of eAuctions, such as the recent AGMA Vehicles eAuctions, supported by Rochdale Council.

4.4.2 Procurement can not advance on systems alone and people and their relationships are critical to delivering continual improvement. A focus on building strong relationships has resulted in an increased procurement profile with internal service leads, contracted suppliers and the wider business community. Joint working with the Legal Service has increased the standardisation of the procurement process and improved the management of the increased risk of challenge. It is testament to the skills of the staff involved in the procurement process that since the introduction of The Chest, there have been no formal legal challenges upheld against the Council’s tender processes. At a time when other authorities across the country are seeing an increase in challenges made, some resulting in significant financial penalties, the Council continues to manage this risk and ensure that all procurement activity is fair, consistent and transparent.

4.4.3 The work carried out to date with suppliers has delivered multiple benefits from cashable savings of over

£3m in the last three years to wider added value areas such as an increase in the number of apprenticeships created across the Borough on construction contracts to reducing the Council’s carbon footprint and the use of environmentally friendly products.

4.4.4 Last financial year also saw procurement resource opening up dialogue with the social and voluntary sectors. Attendance and training provided to organisations in these sectors demonstrated Rochdale’s commitment to widening access to Council contracts and complimented the work with the local business community. Furthermore, 33% of low value contracts were awarded to local suppliers in 2010/2011 and 49% of the Council spend was within the Borough. Of the high value tenders, in 2010/2011, 89% were awarded to SMEs which is above the Central Government target of 25%.

4.4.5 An overview of the Council’s procurement progress against the five priority areas is in Appendix 1.

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5. How do we improve? The Council’s Procurement Priorities

In order to further the Council’s ambitions Corporate Procurement has identified the following five priorities for the duration of this strategy:

Meeting the Objective

5.1.1.Whilst the projects needing dedicated procurement support will be driven by Service requirements, there are a number of actions the function will undertake to ensure the power of procurement is maximised:

a. Provide professional support, advice and commercial knowledge to all procurement projects to deliver wider Council plans.

b. Increase awareness of the Procurement function and engage with Services early within the project to maximise the outcomes.

c. Ensure the timely delivery of spend management information to inform the decision making process.

d. Identify and promote collaborative opportunities that could lead to greater quality provision whilst benefiting from economies of scale.

e. Raise procurement standards within the Council and across partners throughout the contract lifecycle, with specific emphasis on contract management to ensure the full benefits of procurement are realised.

Measuring Success

5.1.2 Putting the end customer at the heart of all procurement activity should result in contracts that provide the goods and services required to deliver improved service delivery and increased customer satisfaction and engagement. Each project will have their own performance indicators and, in turn, each contract will have measurements in place to ensure success. In 2010/2011, all projects were delivered to the project timeframes as agreed with customers and stakeholders, however, no qualitative assessment was undertaken to assess customer satisfaction. From 2012, it is proposed:

a. Strategic and collaborative procurement projects will undergo customer feedback to assess the value added by Procurement Officers and identify areas for continual improvement.

b. A further review will be carried out after contract implementation to ensure the contract meets service user requirements and is delivering the desired project outcomes. This additional measure will ensure quick wins are not implemented to the long term detriment of a project and the Council’s aims.

Performance Measure One (P1):

% Customer satisfaction with the procurement process measured as outlined in 5.1.2:

 Customer Feedback post contract award

 Periodic review over the lifecycle of the contract to ensure the contract meets service user requirements and is delivering the desired project outcomes

5.1 Objective: Supporting strategic and collaborative procurement across the Council, getting the right contracts at the right price

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5.2.1 In line with the AGMA Improvement & Efficiency Priority Theme for Procurement, focus will be on the following work-streams to deliver efficiencies through procurement and support Service-led efficiencies:

a. Re-let existing Rochdale and AGMA contracts, seeking to collaborate where the opportunity exists and enabling others to join Rochdale contracts. A thorough review is currently underway and the data will be updated annually through report to Members. The Council’s forward plan can be found on the website and a link is provided in Appendix 3.

b. Consolidate ‘best deals’ where Services and/or authorities buy from the same suppliers but via separate contracts.

c. Consolidate fragmented spend across common categories where Services and/or authorities buy from the same categories but via multiple/different suppliers.

d. Support new procurement projects to deliver wider Council efficiencies.

e. Utilising the AGMA and wider North West Procurement Network to help deliver the Council’s objectives.

This includes the current review being undertaken to create a Strategic Procurement Unit with four other Greater Manchester Authorities.

f. The Council will seek to minimise year on year increases whenever possible.

g. Furthermore, income through procurement Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and Partnership working will be optimised

5.2.2 In 2010/2011, £1.3m savings were made through contracts In 2011/2012 procurement has been targeted with delivering new savings of £800k from goods and services, in addition to the £522k accumulative savings achieved from previous years.

Performance Measure Two (P2):

% Savings delivered against the target

5.2 Objective: Driving efficiencies out of procurement through the competitive bid process and supplier relationship management

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5.3.1 In 2010/2011, 49% of Council spend went in the Borough of Rochdale and 73% in the North West. In part this is due to the strategic partnering agreements that are in place, but also through the promotion of opportunities via The Chest, the online tender portal to small to medium size enterprises (SMEs) and local businesses. Improvements can be made by:

a. Reviewing the impact of the Rochdale and AGMA spend within our Local Communities to improve economic, environmental and social opportunities for our Borough by stimulating markets and achieving community benefits. Pre-tender reviews by the Supplier Relation function within the Corporate Procurement team will highlight opportunities as well as add commercial insight to projects.

b. Reducing the negative environmental impact of the Council’s goods and services through improved specifications and supporting the Council’s commitment to carbon reduction.

c. Introducing standard clauses into contracts for local job creation, apprenticeships and training opportunities.

Requests via the Procurement led Supplier Forums ‘Think Local’

d. Increasing opportunities for local business and the third sector via The Chest. Corporate Procurement are widening access to The Chest to source local suppliers in an open and transparent manner.

e. Minimising the number of Pre-Qualification Questionnaires (PQQs) in OJEU (European) tenders. PQQs are perceived by many suppliers to put SMEs, voluntary and social enterprises at a disadvantage against larger organisations. In some instances, for example, a competitive market place where a high number of suppliers are expected to bid, a PQQ may be necessary to minimise the duration of the tender process, but each opportunity should be reviewed on merit.

5.3.2 Whilst spend by location data has been available to the Council since FY06/07, over the last financial year, improved management information has been developed through The Chest and AGMA SpendPro spend analysis tool to measure the impact of procurement. The data shows:

a. The number of low value (under £50k) opportunities advertised via The Chest in 2010/2011. As a result of the market research undertaken by Corporate Procurement to identify local suppliers, 32% of these opportunities were awarded to local suppliers and 68% to SMEs.

Table 3. Rochdale Council Contracts Awarded by Location/Supplier Type

Quotes Under £50k Contracts over £50k Rochdale North

West Rochdale North West

Quotes/Contracts Issued 33 649 30 755

% Contracts using PQQs N/a N/a 10% 38%

% suppliers who expressed interest that were local 12% 7% N/a N/a

% suppliers who expressed interest that were SMEs 54% 58% 46% 48%

SME Suppliers awarded contracts 68% 55% 89% 40%

Local Suppliers awarded contracts 32% Not measured

b. For contracts over £50k a tender process is run. Central Government has set a target to award 25% of all contracts to SMEs. The data shows that Rochdale Council already surpasses this target. All documents are reviewed on an annual basis to ensure they are user friendly and advertise all opportunities via The Chest. Table 3 also shows that Rochdale’s use of PQQs is lower than the North West average as a result of the Council’s procurement strategy. Both these factors contribute towards improving engagement with SMEs.

c. From 2010/2011 Corporate Procurement started monitoring spend with key suppliers to determine the value of the ‘Local Pound’. Results show that 91% of staff spend is reinvested in Rochdale or the North West and 44% with Rochdale based suppliers. Through Think Local supplier events, Corporate Procurement actively promote sub-contract opportunities and will continue to review this area of spend.

Performance Measure Three (P3):

P3.1 Number of local suppliers actively registered on The Chest P3.2 % Contracts over OJEU awarded to SMEs

5.3 Objective: Focusing on sustainable procurement, balancing local needs, environmental factors and social equality and inclusion with delivering value for money

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5.4.1 In the current environment, challenges to tenders are increasing, in part due to the current economic climate and part due to increased awareness. As a Council, we need to make sure we keep up to date with relevant changes and regularly review documentation in order to meet our statutory requirements and make our processes and requirements as fair, open and transparent as possible. Our customers and suppliers need clear information on controls and standards, allowing a flexible approach to procurement that delivers on the outcomes. The introduction of The Chest provides a full audit trail for all tenders and will lessen the risk of challenge, but further work is needed on risk management and identifying priority customers and suppliers to review accordingly.

Together, Procurement and Legal Services are working in collaboration across the Council and with partners to minimise the risk to the Council. All procurement documents are reviewed annually or in a timely fashion as a result of any legislative changes.

To further mitigate against the risk of legal challenge, the Council:

a. Develop experience in Legal Services to provide legal support to Services throughout the procurement process and increase the potential efficiencies as well as reduce the risks to the Council.

b. Uses The Chest which provides a full audit trail and, as part of ongoing improvements, is updated to meet new procurement legislation.

c. Details feedback to all bidders and can arrange a follow up meeting to gain an understanding of why their bid was not successful, and more importantly, why the winning bidder was chosen.

d. Publishes all spend and contract data monthly to meet the Government’s transparency agenda.

5.4.2 Since the introduction of The Chest in FY07/08, there have been no challenges to tenders run via the portal.

Whilst we find ourselves in an environment of increased challenge, the Council will continue to provide support to Services to minimise the risk.

Performance Measure Four (P4):

P4 Number of formal legal challenges received and upheld against the total number of tenders

5.4 Objective: Meeting the Council’s legislative and regulatory requirements

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5.5.1 One key objective of this strategy is to improve relations across the internal network to ensure a greater level of consistency in the quality and outcomes from commissioning and procurement activity. Enabling those with Procurement Responsibilities with the skills to undertake this activity allows for the development of a long term, sustainable procurement function for the Council. Focus is given to:

a. Maximising the potential of our people by providing leadership and building capacity.

b. Delivering training and awareness sessions to ensure continuity of good practice.

c. Introduce sustainable learning via eLearning both within Rochdale and across the region.

d. Effective management of risk and understanding of legislative requirements.

e. Well maintained eProcurement systems and development of new functionality, including Civica, The Chest and P-cards as well as category specific systems such as Comensura (Agency Staff) and Seeker (Consultancy).

5.5.2 If all staff have the right skills and knowledge to perform their duties, this will support the previous four indicators. Success will be measured by the number of improvements across all other performance indicators along with the assessment of the quality of the training and support.

5.5.3 The following areas are indicative of the performance highlights in 2010/2011.

a. Joint working with AGMA Procurement Hub identified savings for Rochdale to a value of £170k through effective networking and knowledge sharing.

b. Two Procurement staff successfully completed the next level of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supplies (CIPS) increasing the number of qualified staff with CIPS or related qualifications to 88%.

c. All training sessions delivered to Services in 2010/2011 achieved a satisfaction rating of good or above.

6. Summary

6.1 Whilst this strategy demonstrates much has been done to improve procurement across the Council, the commitment to continual improvement means that all staff involved in the procurement process from the Lead Member to officers are committed to delivering value for money and helping the Council be one ‘which builds success and prosperity with our citizens and partners, whilst protecting its vulnerable people’.

6.2 We welcome feedback and input at all levels and have created a single point of contact for any procurement related communications.

Email us at:

Corporate.Procurement

@Rochdale.gov.uk

Performance Measure Five (P5):

P5.1 % Performance Measures showing improvement since last report P5.2 % Training Sessions rated ‘good’ or above

5.5 Objective: Enabling those with procurement responsibilities to undertake their responsibilities

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Appendix 1 Progress at a glance

Table 4, below, provides an overview of the Council’s procurement priorities and the progress made since the development of the last procurement strategy.

Table 4. The Council’s Procurement Priorities RAG Status 1. Supporting Strategic and Collaborative Procurement Status: Green

FY09/10 FY10/11 FY11/12

Commenced review of spend to utilise collaborative contracts where benefical to the Council.

Involved in a number of strategic procurement opportunities.

Further increased usage of collaborative contracts. Sub- Regional lead for procurement systems development and a number of collaborative contracts for AGMA.

Strategy of joining collaborative contracts allowed better use of resources working on contracts where significant value added through procurement, eg through opportunities promoted to local suppliers or for Rochdale strategic projects. Rochdale took regional lead for procurement tender portal development. Internal use of The Chest widened across Services and Partners.

2. Driving efficiencies through procurement Status: Amber

FY09/10 FY10/11 FY11/12

Consolidated position on efficiencies on corporate contracts.

Commenced review of all spend utilising new spend analysis tool, SpendPro, provided by AGMA.

Key highlight included a reduction in consultancy spend by £500k as a result of procurement driven improved processes.

Wider support to services resulted in procurement enabled savings to be realised. Major projects undertaken with high spend Services, including Adult Care and Operational Support. A full benefits realisation process has been introduced and consistently used across all procurement projects.

Savings: £750k Savings: £1.3m Savings: £1.6m (Forecast)

3. Focusing on sustainable procurement Status: Green

FY09/10 FY10/11 FY11/12

Programme of annual training and awareness sessions introduced for local suppliers. Sustainable procurement identified by AGMA review as area for development.

Achieved Level 4 Equality Standard.

Recognised by Department of Business, Innovation and Skills for work on The Chest to increase opportunities to local suppliers.

Sustainable procurement options appraisal made standard across all tenders. 84% of contracts awarded to SMEs, 25% higher than central government target.

33% low value contracts awarded to local suppliers and 49% of total Council spend with local suppliers.

Focus targeted in two areas:

- Increased opportunities for - Local SMEs

- Voluntary and third sector

This includes direct contract opportunities and sub-contract opportunites.

- Carbon reduction

Regular workshops for local businesses on how to bid for Rochdale business and also public sector embedded in wider economic development training.

Full year statistics not available at time of writing.

4. Being legally compliant Status: Green

FY09/10 FY10/11 FY11/12

The Chest tender portal introduced to minimise risk to the Council. The system provides a fully auditable trail through the tender process. No challenges to contracts received and upheld.

Comprehensive review of the Council’s Contract Procedure Rules undertaken. No challenges to contracts received and upheld.

Annual review of Contract Procedure Rules undertaken to maximise results through procurement. No challenges to contracts received and upheld at time of writing.

5. Enabling others for continual improvement Status: Amber

FY09/10 FY10/11 FY11/12

Procurement involved in general eProcurement training.

Training enhanced through the Council’s Financial Awareness Training programme. Annual Member training started.

Procurement training enhanced to provide Service specific training and expand the use of procurement systems, The Chest and P-cards. Wider Procurement training to be rolled out to provide those involved in complex tenders with a greater understanding of the procurement environment and the benefits it can deliver.

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Appendix 2 Procurement Key Action Plan

Table 5, below highlights the key actions for the coming year. This part of the strategy will be updated annually to track and monitor progress.

Table 5: Procurement Key Action Plan

Priority Key Action Benefit Due By Owner

1 Supporting strategic and collaborative procurement

Encourage innovation through the procurement process via The Chest through the use of market research and output based specifications.

Opportunity to test market conditions, develop new supplier relations in bottleneck markets.

As per project requirem ents

Services supported by Procurement.

Update the full contract register across all Service areas.

Meets Central Government transparency agenda; provides contract details in one location; increases supplier awareness of forward tender schedule.

Quarterly review

Procurement.

Review the opportunity to create a Strategic Procurement Unit with other AGMA.

Ensure a robust and sustainable procurement resource to deliver contracts to meet the Council’s needs and greater savings through economies of scale.

As per Board meeting schedule

AGMA.

2 Driving efficiencies through procurement

Use category

management approach to drive through further savings from the Council’s spend, setting priorities with Services in line with delivery plans.

Use of procurement strategies to maximise opportunities from Council contracts:

- Bottleneck - Strategic - Routine - Leverage.

April 2012

Service Leads

supported by Procurement.

Update the Council’s Terms and Conditions.

Better outcomes from contracts, simplified to ease understanding for SMEs and voluntary and or social enterprises.

March 2013

Legal

supported by Procurement.

Widen use of The Chest for quotes across priority spend areas.

Increases competition, provides an audit trail, generates cashable savings, widens opportunities to local market.

Quarterly review

Procurement.

Review of Council contracts, including the strategic partnership

Review of the specifications and terms and conditions to identify potential savings

Quarterly review

Legal with Procurement support.

3 Focusing on

sustainable procurement

Continue training,

awareness and

relationship building with local business community and voluntary sector.

Increases local suppliers competitiveness and encourages engagement in the procurement process and delivery efficiencies.

Annual Review April 2012

Procurement and

Economic Development .

4 Legal compliance

Update Contract

Procedure Rules.

Ensures the Council is compliant with recent updates to European Procurement Directives. Changes to the tender value limits sub-OJEU will widen opportunities for local suppliers and the voluntary sector.

April 2012

Procurement supported by Legal.

5 Enabling others for continual improvement

Develop Procurement Training for key staff in- Service with procurement responsibilities

Building on the positive feedback from the Financial Awareness Training, there is a further need to raise awareness of how to successfully manage the procurement process as Services take on more responsibility in this area.

April 2012

Procurement.

5 Enabling others for continual improvement

Review the procurement process flow on The Chest to update with new system enhancements.

New functionality can further reduce the time spent on parts of the tender process at a time when resources are scarce.

June 2012

Procurement.

5 Enabling Review opportunites for Develop in-house and local skills to Progress AGMA/

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Appendix 3 Related Weblinks and Further Reading

The following links provide further information related to the field of Procurement. Please email Procurement@star-procurement.gov.uk to notify us of any broken links.

Overview Link

Further information on how to do business with Rochdale Council, the forward plan for contracts, spend over £500 reports and links to sub-contract opportunities.

www.rochdale.gov.uk/suppliers

The Roots Review: Review of arrangements for efficiencies from smarter procurement in local government 2009.

http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/l ocalgovernment/rootsreview

The Localism Act 2011: Includes procurement and the encouraged use of local and or social enterprises.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2011/20/

pdfs/ukpga_20110020_en.pdf Association of Greater Manchester Authorities

Procurement Hub.

http://www.agma.gov.uk/commissions1/impro vement_efficiency_commission/collaborative_

efficiency_programme/agma-procurement- hub/index.html

The Chest Tender Portal. https://www.thechest.nwce.gov.uk